Cyclones struggle at home

AMES, IOWA - It was an uphill battle from the start for the Iowa State football team despite an impressive start to Saturday's game against Nebraska.

Cyclone quarterback Austen Arnaud said the team had a couple of issues. Iowa State Coach Gene Chizik said his team is out of sync. Fact of the matter is, everybody involved with ISU knows the job is not getting done on the football field, but trying to find out why will be the biggest challenge for Chizik and his staff.

"It's really hard to pinpoint," Chizik said. "At some points in time one side is playing well and something catastrophic happens; we turn the ball over. Since the first half against Kansas, as a football team, we have gone backwards. We're hit and miss in so many areas on our football team right now."

The only shining light for the Cyclones on Saturday came right at the start of the third quarter when ISU tailback Alexan Robinson scampered 67 yards through the NU defense for the only Cyclone touchdown in the 35-7 loss to the Cornhuskers.

Chizik wasn't ashamed to agree that Saturday's game was a tale of two halves for his team. In the first half it was all Nebraska. Senior quarterback Joe Ganz led the NU offense to a nearly flawless first half performance that resulted in 349 yards of total offense by the Huskers with 283 of it coming from Ganz's arm.

It was a first half that saw the Ganz-led Huskers rack up 19 first downs compared to a measly two from the Cyclones. Anything and everything went wrong in the first half for ISU, and Chizik knew it.

"We did have a bad first half," Chizik said. "The second half was a little bit better. We're out of sync offensively; we're not consistent at all. Bottom line is we're not catching any type of spark to get our team going, certainly early in the game."

Iowa State had 14 offensive drives in the game, scoring on just one. Nebraska had 13 and scored on five. In the end, the 35-7 loss might not do as much justice as it should considering Nebraska still shot themselves on the foot on multiple drives that could have made the game even more wide open in favor of NU.

For the last three weeks, the tone in the NU locker room has been one of disappointment due to lack of execution on Saturdays. After NU's disposal of the Cyclones, Chizik and his team are feeling it more than ever.

The current five-game losing streak ISU is on marks the third-consecutive season that ISU has lost at least five straight games. Unfortunately for the Cyclones, it's a feeling they are tired of getting used to.

"It's frustrating (when) we work hard, and this definitely isn't what we work for," ISU defensive end Kurtis Taylor said. "It's not what we expect. It just so happens that it is what it is right now, and we're not going ot hang our heads and go in the tank."

The challenge of not going in the tank will start next Saturday for ISU with they welcome in another struggling Big 12 Conference team in the Texas A&M Aggies for their homecoming game in 2008.

Although the Cyclones slowed down the NU offense momentarily in the second half, it wasn't enough of a flash of good play for anyone on the ISU bench to be happy. The Huskers only scored 14 points in the second half, and both scores didn't come until the last two drives of the game.

It was a sign of a team that can play at a higher level, but Chizik said it still isn't consistent. Another example would be the play of his team in the first half of its game against Kansas a few weeks ago. ISU had the Jayhawks down 20-0 at halftime before surrendering that entire lead in the third quarter as KU went on to win in a tight one by the final score 35-33.

ISU defensive back Kennard Banks knows there will be a lot to work on come practice time in Ames.

"We need to work on everything," Banks said. "We didn't come out with the right mindset and get this win like we are supposed to, so I think we just need to work on everything, and I think that will make us an all-around better team."

The Cyclones will have a steep mountain to climb to become bowl-eligible in 2008 considering they will have to win four of their last five games. Those games will be against A&M on Saturday, then will be followed by games against Oklahoma State, Colorado, Missouri and Kansas State.

All signs are pointing to another difficult season in Ames, but sophomore quarterback Arnaud said none of the struggles have to do with the gameplans.

"I think the coaches are doing the right thing, it's just that we as the offense have got to be able to run the football a little bit better," Arnaud said. "(Saturday) we had a couple of issues with protection, and me not throwing the ball in the right place. I did that a couple of times, and I think it's a combined effort, but it's a loss that really hurts."